John Stevens: drums, percussion & cornet
Evan Parker: soprano saxophone
Disc One
The Longest Night
1.19.11[9:55], 2.19.44 [12:44], 3.20.23 [21:21],
4. 21.25 [5:40], 5. 21.47 [5:11], 6. 22.18
[6:23], 7. 23.12 [11:52]
Disc Two
Corner to Corner
1.23.40 [10:08], 2.Corner to Corner [14:57],
3.Rubber [9:22], 4.Angles [10:16], 5.Incidence
[3:47], 6.Reflections (for Geoff Rigden) [4:34],
7.Acute [5:21], 8.Each/Other [12:06].
Recorded on the longest night of 1976 at
Riverside Studios, London W4, UK (The Longest
Night) and 8 June 1993 at Angel studio, Islington,
London, UK (Corner to Corner). Total Time:[73:29]
On the sleeve note for the
original LP of The Longest Night the late
John Stevens said "Evan and I are two
of the most skilled interpreters….of this
highly specialised form of improvisation of
which this is an excellent example".
No one could accuse him of false modesty then!
No doubt what he said was perfectly true but
the question is: is it worth doing? There
are clearly a sizeable minority who think
it is but I’m not one of them. I knew the
reputation of Evan Parker and looked forward
to reviewing the discs but when I first heard
them I couldn’t find the stamina to listen
to all of the tracks (over 2 hours 20 mins)
but in the interest of MusicWeb visitors I
can tell you I have put myself through what
I can only describe as aural purgatory! I’m
all for experimentation for without it everything
– whether it be art, engineering, science,
literature or music simply stands still and
there can be no progress. However, over two
hours of squeaking, screeching, whistling,
droning and burbling on Evan Parker’s part
and scraping, tapping and bashing on John
Stevens’ proved too much for my sensitivities.
It is without a doubt the most unmusical experience
I have ever endured though I’m sure the musicians
would have been in good company with the likes
of Conlon Nancarrow and John Cage and others
who found favour with certain sections of
the musical hierarchy in the 1960s when tunes
were a dirty word and good composers like
Berthold Goldschmidt and George Lloyd were
given the cold shoulder, Lloyd having to resort
to mushroom cultivation to make ends meet.
I’d be interested to read any counter argument
but meanwhile I think I’ve made my point.
Steve Arloff
CD Reviews
Ogun
Records OGCD 022/023
